A Necessary Sacrifice
by kathrynw221291
Summary: post-cuba shenanigans.  eventual hank/alex. charles and the guys are off somewhere having a battle with some soldiers, and alex has to make an important decision when hank's life is put in danger. angsty for a while but cute and fluffy towards the end.
1. Chapter 1

**A Necessary Sacrifice **

**Pairing: Hank/Alex**

**Warnings: battle scenes, blood and violence, kissing**

**Disclaimer: I don't own x-men first class or any of the characters. All credit to the actors, directors and Stan Lee.**

**A credit needs to be paid to my good fanfiction friend 'Beizanten' for the idea of this fic. So a big thank you to her. :) **

**Chapter fic, so expect more of this story to come in the future. I've got it planned out; I just need to write it up.**

All of the young mutants were running in different directions trying to avoid the shrapnel flying through the air, and the human's that were following them with guns and grenades. Charles' voice rang clear in all of their heads; it was telling them to '_get to the house'_ that was a few yards away in the grounds they were currently racing through, just ahead of those trying to hurt them and kill them if they got the chance.

Alex looked around to see if he could see any of his friends. He could hear Sean's piercing screams coming from a long way off, so he was somewhere in the sky, but not far enough away that the sound wasn't hurting the blonde's ears. But where was Hank? He hadn't seen the blue mutant for over an hour, and he was starting to freak out. What if Beast had been hit? Or captured by the furious humans out to get their heads on silver platters? He was big and blue and furry, it's not like he would be hard to see. They were in a green lush field and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, Hank would hardly be able to camouflage himself.

He kept running, turning around to try and blast some of the human's away. He shot off three burning red sparks, not directly at the three soldiers but in between them. The technique worked and they scattered to avoid the lines of red and they lost their momentum. Sean was circling overhead, screaming like a banshee still. As he edged closer to the ground the noise became less bearable, and the humans still following them were thrown by it. Alex put his hands over his ears and started to run faster, making the most of the stutter in the soldiers' lapse in attention. Just as the house came into view Hank barreled into Alex from the side, almost knocking the blonde down.

"Shit! Sorry Alex, these guys on my tail are fast and I barely saw you." Hank said in an exasperated voice, righting Alex from where he had been knocked off course.

"No, it's cool man. These bastards just don't give up!" Alex replied with a shake of the head. The blonde then lunged for two of the guys that were chasing Hank; they hadn't been expecting it and they fell like bowling pins, rolling away and struggling to get back up after having the wind knocked out of them.

"Cheers, Alex." Hank shouted back as he tore off ahead towards the house. Alex smiled at him and shouted his assent back. Banshee landed near Alex, wobbling on shaky legs before looking around to see how many were left standing. There were eight of them still chasing, like crazed dogs after a persistent and ballsy rabbit. Alex grabbed Sean and looked him over; he had a small cut on his cheekbone and another that had slashed through the ginger's fabric wings, leaving a line of little holes.

"You okay bro? We need to get to that house and fast. Can you run alright?" Alex asked, patting him on the shoulder to rouse his attention away from the soldiers. Sean nodded seriously and he turned and started to run with Alex fast on his heels.

They reached the house and Hank was in the doorway, beating of two of the heavily armed guys. He shouted to the mutants to get inside, but they were having none of that, so they started to use their powers to be able to garner safe passage. Sean threw his head back and started wailing and screeching, Alex squinted against the loud noise, and he saw Hank's ears perk up and his yellow eyes also closing. The blonde stood with his legs apart and started aiming blasts in the direction of the running soldiers. Each attempt left lines of blazing fire in its wake, spooking the men off course. Alex heard the men Hank had been battling thud to the ground behind him.

"I think we're good to go in the house, Charles is in there somewhere." Hank shouted above the enduring noise coming from the ginger boy. Alex and Sean nodded, as Hank rolled the soldiers he had just disabled away from the entry way with his clawed feet, a look of deep disgust on his blue face.

The house in question was fairly large, all of the windows had been boarded up, the only way in seemed to be a hole in the door that had been smashed through. If it had been a less stressful situation Alex would have pondered how Charles had managed to achieve such a feat from his wheelchair. But whatever, that really didn't matter right now. Alex grabbed Sean by the wrist and all but dragged him through the hole in the wooden makeshift door. Once inside Sean ran off trying to find Charles, '_library; I'm in the library' _rang through their heads.

Alex waited for Hank to come through the door, needing to block up the hole they had made. Those bastard soldiers couldn't get in there, or they'd be royally screwed.

"Hank? Hank, come on! Get inside. There's enough time, they've got to regroup and get their strength back after our fighting, and you need to be in here, like five minutes ago!" Alex screamed out of the doorway, pleading with the blue mutant to hurry up.

"Ok…yeah I'm just…I'm coming now just give me a second to…yeah there we go." Hank said, fiddling with some small devices in his large blue hands. He squeezed whatever they were and they started to emit a greenish smoke. Dropping them on the floor a few feet away from the house, Hank turned and jumped through the hole. Luckily Alex had stepped back, or else he would've been knocked over on his ass by a determined and slightly harried Hank. Alex raised a blonde eyebrow at Hank, who explained with two simple words: "Tear gas."

Hank started ripping panels off of the wall and plugging and covering the hole in the door. Alex caught on and started grabbing some boxes that were stacked around the hallway and using them to prop up the panels hank was shoving around. After using a few chairs that Sean had emerged with, the doorway was blocked sturdily enough to keep the soldiers out for a while. Sean also moved a large cabinet, abetted by Alex and Hank, in front of the piles of boxes and chairs, just to make sure they were safe.

Charles wheeled into the room in his wheelchair, fingers placed at his temple and his eyes closed in concentration. The three boys were left panting in the consuming silence of the abandoned house, waiting for their orders from their boss.

"I'm sorry boys; we were set up by Elphias Anderson. He had those relentless soldiers on standby from the moment we arrived at his lodge. I brought you onto a hypothetical minefield that I should have foreseen." Charles eventually said, wheeling through into what had once been a dining room. Now it looked like an abandoned warehouse with the paint stripped off the walls, and damp-looking wooden boxes scattered around. Sean jumped onto one of the boxes and sat cross legged upon it. Alex and Hank followed suit and collapsed unceremoniously onto the wooden makeshift-furniture.

"Its okay Professor, you didn't know. We can hardly hold a grudge for something you weren't able to see." Sean said diplomatically, trying to force a smile as he got his breath back.

The only sound for a while was the panting of the three young men, mingled with the sound of the soldiers moving outside, and the occasional creak of wood from the boxes they were sitting on.

"How are we going to get out of here? Get back to the mansion? What the hell was Anderson doing setting all these squaddies on us anyway?" Alex spoke in an annoyed tone, throwing his hands up in disbelief and anger. Charles shook his head in a jerky way, frowning deeply.

"I believe he is being paid to catch mutants and hand them over to the government agencies hell bent on wiping mutants off the planet. As Anderson has been a trusted ally of mutants for many years, our kind would willingly go to him knowing he would treat them well. The government exploited this trusting nature and Anderson's own money worries and came up with the plan to pay for any mutants caught." The older male explained, to which the boys became more angered, Hank even let out a low growl for a moment, baring his pointed white teeth as his upper lip curled back.

"What an asshole!" Sean exclaimed, slamming his feet down on the ground indignantly.

"Indeed. Quite the betrayal." Charles agreed.

"How do you know all that, prof? He tell you?" Alex asked, swiping at a bleeding cut on his hand where a piece of shrapnel had scratched him.

"No, I was able to tap into his mind a few moments ago as an admission of such facts was forced out of him by a particularly ferocious mutant, with long claws made of metal that slide in and out of his knuckles, who had him bent backwards over a desk, pleading for mercy and crying. I don't think Anderson should have messed with that mutant. Anderson may not yet survive after plotting with the government to have our kind destroyed. As always the humans underestimate us, boys." Charles said with a grim resignation. Although hate for Anderson's bad decisions was coursing through him at that time, death and pain were not something Charles reveled in. the professor was forced back to the conversation he had had with Erik about killing Shaw and how it would not bring his former-friend peace. Erik's chilling response of 'peace was never an option' rang through his head as he sat there idly contemplating humanity and its weaknesses.

"Well, I can't say I feel bad for the guy, I mean he sold us out to the feds! But that is one nasty way to die; skewered on metal spikes." Alex said, running a hand through his sweat-damp hair and grimacing at the mental images. The others murmured sentiments of assent and silence fell again.

"The tear gas should hold the remaining soldiers off for a while, but not for long. We should attempt to escape this place as quickly as possible while they are temporarily disabled. Is the helicopter coming for us, Charles?" Hank asserted, standing up and walking over to the window, trying to peer through a crack in the wooden boards. Watching Hank so tense and anxious just caused such an attitude to swell and settle in the room, engulfing the others as they sat waiting in the dingy house. Charles had lit a few candles, but the light was flickering and casting shadows around the walls, that loomed over them like great ghost-like creatures ready to pounce.

"Yes. I called for the helicopter just before you got to the house, it should be here soon. Once we get outside we'll have to fight our way towards it, the pilot on the line said he'd have to land behind the house on a large open space. So we'll escape through a door I discovered that is around the left side of the building." Charles said in a level tone.

"Sounds good, boss. So now we just wait fro the chopper?" Sean asked, getting up and walking over to the window and standing beside Hank. The ginger bumped shoulders with the former brunette and the elder smiled his wolfish grin, although it was a little shaky at that moment, and returned to watching the field outside.

"Yes, I'm afraid we have to play the waiting game for a while." Charles replied in a resigned tone, looking around at the young men in his charge. It had been months and months since the Cuban missile incident on the beach, and his students had grown up so much in that short time.

They had been training doubly hard, by their own choice. What happened on that fateful day had taught them just how weak they could be and how they were now targets rather than teenagers hiding secrets about their powers. It was not only Charles' life that had been thrown into a massive loop that day. The team had been diminished, they had lost Darwin, and Raven, Angel and Erik had walked away, leaving the remaining x-men to flail in their absence. They had to buck up and cope with the losses they had sustained, to carry on and not fall apart at the seams. The x-men had been shaken up and gutted, but they would not fall and surrender themselves to the cruel humans that wanted to crush their spirit and lock them away like zoo animals. Charles would not let his team give up; they had worked too hard and seen too much to give up before reaching their goal.

Charles had been hit hard by Erik's departure, especially because he had been so close to the German metal-manipulator, and had learnt so much from him. He and Erik had started a relationship only four weeks previous to that day in Cuba, and it was progressing beautifully, unfolding so much potential and possibilities before them, all they could achieve and succeed at together. Even when the bounds of the budding relationship fell away, a strong unyielding heavy-foundation friendship remained between the older mutants. A mutual understanding and comprehension of their needs and their desires and their ideas for a better future for mutants lay between them. And when Erik had placed that helmet on his head and rejected it all, Charles had been physically hurt, as if a part of him had been torn away and a gaping hole had been left behind.

He'd wanted to just give up on that beach, to allow himself to die there, his friends and his soul mate Erik walking away and his body failing him. But he had people to care for, to train and to help achieve their goals, the goals of the x-men. He couldn't give up and leave them without hope, or a safe place to stay. They'd kept him going after being paralyzed and driven into a wheelchair, so in turn he had to keep them going; keep their soul fires burning so they could achieve the greatness he knew they possessed.

The wait, it turned out, was longer than they had anticipated, ending up being an hour and a half. Hank became fairly agitated when he thought he heard movement out by the doorway, but it turned out to be one of the tear gas devices malfunctioning. Alex and Charles had discovered some boxes full of books in the library so the blonde was sitting cross legged on a threadbare rug with a candle placed near him, reading an old version of Treasure Island. Charles had wheeled himself to the nearest candle as he didn't fancy holding it in one hand while attempting to turn pages with the other; he had grabbed a copy of Romeo and Juliet and was scanning through it, looking for passages to help teach the boys a bit of literature and culture in between their training sessions. Sean had flopped down and sprawled in an armchair Alex had discovered in a large closet and wheeled out into the dining room, with the ginger still inside it. So the ginger boy was now asleep mumbling quietly as he brought his knees up to snuggle in the fetal position, and Hank had even left his vigil at the window after twenty minutes and was sitting cross-legged leaning against said armchair. He was also reading, his choice being a book on Einstein and his contributions to science.

After a while Charles began to forget that they had been in danger only a while ago, it was as if they were back at home in the mansion, wiling away the hours until night fell and they retired to their respective rooms for sleep. But he was brought back to their harsh reality when he heard his radio buzz from across the room. Hank and Alex snapped their books shut and looked at the radio for a moment, flicking their gazes between each other and Charles and then to the outside area that they couldn't see. Alex picked up the books the three of them had been reading and shoved them into the backpack Sean had been wearing, before shaking the ginger boy awake lightly. Once roused Sean was on his feet, adrenaline coursing through him, he was ready for the next battle. Charles was talking into the radio in the background, while Hank peered out of the window through the crack in the wood he had previously used. Alex was pepping himself up, like he'd always done as a child before a big test at school. He'd always done it because it was something Scott also did. And before they'd been separated when Alex had gone to prison, he'd always wanted to be like his big brother. Pepping himself up was forever associated with Scott and therefore Alex's loneliness without his brother after they'd become estranged.

"Okay gentlemen, the helicopter is outside across the field around the back of the house. We will go out of the side door and run, or in my case wheel, to the transport. Any volunteers to go first?" Charles said, addressing his young charges with an attempt at a strong and reassuring smile. It was probably fairly weak and watery in reality though.

The three boys looked between each other and shrugged.

"I shall go first, Charles. You follow me and then Sean and Alex can go out after you. Let's make our way to the door and scope out from there?" Hank asserted walking from the room and down the narrow corridor towards the blocked up back door. Hank started on unblocking the way, helped by Alex he managed to break the fastenings at the edges and gently and quietly as possible peel away the wooden boards. Hank stepped out and peered around the edge of the building to check for soldiers. They seemed to have fallen back and there was no movement on the field. The sun was lower in the sky now, and was setting at a steady rate. Clouds had formed and this threw shadows onto areas of the field. Alex and Sean lifted Charles in his wheelchair over the edge of the doorway and onto the dried grass, before following him out.

The Professor pointed out the helicopter in the corner of the field, and the boys started to make a steady course towards it, a little relieved at how easy it all was. Charles passed Hank and the others and was the first to reach the helicopter. Sean was jogging slowly towards the transport, leaving Hank and Alex scoping out the area around them, Hank's blue furry ears peaked for the slightest sound. When Alex felt him tense beside him and shift minutely the blonde knew there was danger in the air. Hank squinted and pointed to a particularly shadowy part of the field where it tapered off around a corner.

"Something is moving, in that patch of shadow. I can't see what. Alex, get to the helicopter I'll cover you if whatever it is shows its face." Hank said in a barely-there whisper. Alex shook his head and carried on next to Hank, he wasn't about to let Hank be left out there alone, Beast or not, he wasn't going to be abandoned.

It all happened in a flash, the last thing Alex remembered seeing before it all went crazy was Sean reaching the helicopter and clambering up the steps into it, as Charles waited for him and Hank to arrive. Then there was a flashlight beam that fell in front of them and raked up the front of Hank's body. Then a tiny laser light that followed it and a gun shot was fired. The noise travelled and Alex made a snap-decision, he had to keep Hank alive, had to protect him. So he stepped in front of the blue mutant just as the bullet sailed towards him. It hit him in the left shoulder, just below his collarbone, this only registered because Alex felt it burn his skin and pierce it, leaving behind a fair sized hole that poured a healthy amount of blood forth. Alex toppled over, being caught by Hank who had cried out his name in an anguished voice.

"Alex? Alex! Can you hear me? Shit! Why did you do this, huh? I would have been fine to take it…I'm stronger and bulkier! Fuck! Fuck! Alex stay with us, don't let those eyelids close! Shit! It should have been me, damn it!" Hank's voice filtered through Alex's consciousness as he was wracked with sudden shivers.

He lifted his blonde head and smiled a shaky smile up at the blue mutant.

"I…H-Hank. I had to keep you alive and kicking…I'm not…you're more… I need to do something before I p-pass out, before I lose t-too much blood and I can't th-think straight…b-before it all comes to an end, y'know? Will y-you let me…?" Alex croaked out, a rivulet of blood trickling down his pale chin and dripping onto the yellow uniform top. Hank lifted Alex's lolling head so that their eyes met.

"What is it you need to- mmph" Hank tried to ask, but before he could finish his sentence Alex had lunged up with strength he didn't possess, and planted a deep warm kiss on the scientist's lips. Hank gasped, allowing Alex a chance to plunge his questing tongue between his plump parted lips. Hank's brain kicked back into gear and he kissed back just as feverishly. They broke apart and grayish-blue eyes met yellow and the stare was prolonged and full of intrigue and surprise. The question on Hank's lips of '_what the fuck just happened?_' went unsaid as Alex took a last breath before falling into the tendril-reaching unconsciousness that was clawing at his fogged brain. So Hank was left to ponder that question alone, while he cradled the blonde's lithe body across his lap and hating how cold his skin felt beneath the uniform and Hank's large hands.

The next thing Hank knew Sean was charging past him and screeching out his sonic waves, the gunman dropped his gun and was covering his ears. As the wound pulsed and oozed Hank pressed his hand against it, trying to stop the bleeding. The blonde's eyelids were fluttering, the blonde lashes brushing against Alex's paling cheeks.

A faint thwacking of metal against skull could be heard from where Sean had hefted the bastard's weapon that had struck down his friend, and was battering the soldier round the head with it. With a final thump of the soldier falling to the ground he raced over to Alex's side, horrified by what he saw. The yellow and black uniform the blonde wore was now soaked in crimson blood, and Alex's usually tan skin was a deathly pale imitation of his usual complexion. Hank had his arms wrapped around Alex's torso, a litany of desperate questions and pleading about why Alex had done it and why he had jumped the bullet for him, pouring from the blue mutant's mouth.

Sean responded by swearing a lot, Charles was desperately trying to keep a semblance of calm as Hank carried his injured teammate into the helicopter, his yellow eyes darting back and forth over the expanse of field looking out for more intruders with intent to kill. They got safe passage into the transport and a fretful Sean and Hank knelt up beside the blonde, who was barely stirring as the red blood was pooling beneath Alex's limp body.

Charles, as he expected the other boys were also doing, was trying to keep the awful possibility that this might be Alex's last mission as an x-man, or as a man at all, out of his head. Alex would recover from this, he just had to. He had tried so hard to escape his old life and his failings and insecurities, and he had done so well in controlling his power and keeping his temper locked within, with help form Hank's chest plate, but it wouldn't be working so well if it wasn't for Alex's levels of control and discipline. The blonde mutant was so young and so many bad things had happened. He couldn't be dead, he wouldn't be dead. Not going to die. Charles didn't know if the team could take losing another, not after everything else they'd been through. Another Darwin scenario would rent them apart past all hope.

They rushed Alex to the mansion and laid him out on Hank's operating table. The Professor sent Sean to get towels and fresh clothes for Alex, while Hank got to work removing Alex's uniform top and clearing the wound with warm water and cotton wool. Charles helped out as best he could, applying antiseptic to the injury while Hank searched for his tweezers to remove the bullet from within his friend's chest. Charles offered to do it, but Hank was insistent.

On the journey towards the mansion Hank had explained what had happened, about Alex jumping in front of the imminent danger, on Hank's behalf. He had given his life, well not yet, but he had sacrificed himself, not _going to die, not going to die, not going to die_. He had _intended _to sacrifice himself for Hank. To ensure Hank's safety. Sean returned with towels and some pyjama bottoms and a loose-fitting t shirt for the blonde to wear once the injury had been tended to. Hank ordered Sean to sit down, and had thrown a blanket towards him, realizing the ginger boy was going into shock. Charles was talking to him quietly in the background as Hank continued to work.

Alex began to drift in and out of consciousness as Hank delved to find the bullet that had hurt his friend. Finally it had been found and taken out and tossed onto a medical tray nearby.

Then Hank had plugged the wound with gauze and sewn the edges up as best he could. Alex was fully unconscious and it had taken three hours to fix the blonde up enough to stabilize him.

Hank and Sean carried Alex across from the table to a medical cot in the back of the room, unzipping the uniform completely and dressing Alex in his bed clothes. As if it was just another night when they'd all been drinking and were unable to dress themselves. Once Alex was in the bed with the covers tucked around him Hank sighed heavily and stretched his arms, before disposing of the soiled cotton wool and gauze and washed his hands in the sink.

He nodded to Charles and told them that Alex would be okay, he just needed to recover and return to consciousness once his body started to get used to what had happened.

"I've done the best I can do for him at the moment. You've been a great help and I'm just glad we're out of that place. You two might as well get some rest, I will watch over Alex tonight. Thank you Charles, Sean. He's going to be okay." Hank said in a husky whisper, looking over his shoulder at the unconscious Alex with a pinched frown. The unspoken words of '_I'll watch over him tonight, and every night until he gets better_' and '_he's going to be okay because he just has to be' _ hung in the air as Hank couldn't keep his eyes away from the blonde's pale form in the cot.

**Hope this is okay so far.**

**I'm a bit crap at all the technical battle stuff with guns and soldiers. So if that part is completely inaccurate I'm sorry. **

**The next chapter will be hank waiting by Alex's bed side and then the conversation that they have after. **

**Alex will explain his decision to jump in front of the bullet.**


	2. Chapter 2

Hank sat at Alex's bedside, watching him sleep and checking his vitals every few hours. The blood transfusion he'd set up was still working and replacing the blood Alex had lost. The blonde was unconscious because of a strong sedative, his skin really pale and grey circles forming under his eyes. Hank really wanted him to wake up, so he could make him better, make his skin golden and bright like it normally was, and he wanted to see the sideways smirk on those lips and a light in his grey eyes.

He just wanted to know that Alex was okay, that he wasn't slipping through their fingers because he was too protective of Hank.

Hank lost track of how many days he spent by Alex's bedside. He only became aware of it when Charles came to him and told him that he'd been there for three days straight without eating. And six days before that sleeping in the lab on the mattress that Hank had set up in the corner for when he needed to work late. Charles had brought him some soup and crusty bread to eat, which he was thankful for. Charles sat with him for a while, asking questions about Alex's health and Hank's own wellbeing. Charles had to dash off to a training session with Banshee, so Hank was left alone with Alex again.

It was another three days before Alex finally woke up. Hank had been sleeping in the chair next to him when he heard the deep voice groaning as those grey eyes looked him over.

"h-hank?" Alex croaked, as hank's head snapped up. He was scared he might not hear that velvety low voice again.

"I'm here, Alex. How are you feeling?" hank asked quietly, helping Alex into a sitting position, taking extra care with his healing shoulder. The blonde's eyes darted about, before resting on hank's yellow ones.

"My shoulder fucking kills! But it looks like you've fixed me up good. Did everyone else get away alright; Charles and Sean? You're okay?" Alex said, suddenly serious and tense. Hank wanted to run a hand through his hair and soothe him. But he refrained.

"Yeah; everyone is fine, we got away in time. I'm okay, Alex. You're shoulder is on the mend, it should be getting back to normal in a month or so." Hank explained, smiling lightly at Alex as he stroked the bandage over his wound. The blonde seemed to relax at hearing everyone had escaped unharmed.

Hank busied himself with going to the kitchen to make Alex something to eat, he hadn't eaten in weeks and he needed his strength back. Hank decided on a chicken sandwich with salad and mayo. It was one of Alex's favourite things to eat and it would make him feel a bit better after all the drama and medication.

When Hank returned Alex was looking more awake, his cheeks a little flushed with renewed life and Hank smiled properly for the first time since Alex had been brought back after being shot.

Hank placed the sandwich down in front of the blonde and watched him eat it quickly and hungrily. Hank tried not to just stare at Alex as his lips and tongue moved.

"Thanks, Hank. That was great. I really needed that sandwich." Alex gushed, smiling widely and pushing the plate away.

The elephant in the room was weighing heavily on hank. He really needed to ask the golden question. He'd tried to think of ways to bring it up tactfully but there didn't seem to be a way to just slot it into a conversation.

So Hank just went right out and asked.

"Alex, why did you jump that bullet for me?" Hank said in a careful voice, not wanting to upset Alex. The blonde looked up at him seriously and answered in an earnest voice.

"Because I had to." It was a simple answer and Hank had difficulty figuring out the meaning behind it.

"Not that I'm not grateful, but why?" Hank asked, watching Alex fiddle with the bandage at his shoulder again.

"Because, you know, you'd have died. And you mean a lot to people…and you're…just better than me, you're, like, important." Alex didn't look up when he replied, but Hank felt his chest tighten at the response.

"I don't understand, what you mean by that?" Hank needed a bit of clarification on this. Important? Better? He wasn't those things to anyone.

"Um...the world needs people like you around, you know, the x-men need you. You're _worth _more than I could ever be; physically, mentally, emotionally. You're better." Alex looked up at hank to show how sincere he was. Hank was blown away that Alex actually thought that.

"That isn't true Alex. Don't ever think that." Hank said honestly, shaking his head. Alex nodded in response placing a hand on Hank's shoulder and looking at him fully.

"No, it is true. You're, like, a doctor and a scientist. You can help people. All I am is a dirty criminal with anger issues." Alex said with a blasé acceptance of his issues. Hank wanted him not to feel so bad about himself. Alex was just as important as him.

"Don't say that. You're…you're worth a lot. You're not just a criminal; not to me anyway." Hank defended Alex, letting more than he had meant come to the surface.

"What?" Alex said quickly, his head flicking up at hank's answer. Hank blushed and avoided Alex's gaze vehemently.

"Nothing." Hank mumbled as Alex placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What did you say that for? You mean I'm less than that? I bet I don't even come onto your radar. I'm volatile and crazy and I come from broken homes. You're…like I said you're better." Alex said, his voice rising in near-anger at the thought of being insulted by Hank.

"No! I didn't mean that at all. I wasn't insulting you. I meant you're more than a criminal. I don't care about what you've done, or what sort of home you came from." Hank defended himself, trying to let Alex know he didn't judge him.

"You don't? Since when does any of my background matter to you at all? Not to be an ass, but since when do you care?" Alex replied seeming quite confused by Hank's sudden concern. The blonde was staring Hank down, waiting for a response that might placate him.

"Since I'd thought you'd died to save me, I didn't get a chance to really be your friend, Alex. You've always just been there for me, in the background, and then suddenly you weren't. And I missed you; I missed my chance at being anything to you, meaning anything to you." Hank said this in a small desperate voice; he needed Alex to know the truth.

"Oh right. Um…well you were my friend before all this, weren't you? I mean I know we didn't really hang out much, or have much in common to talk about. But i…I never meant to make you feel like we weren't, you know, friends." Alex said in a smaller voice, blushing lightly at Hank's emotional admission. Hank looked up at him and smiled a little.

"We talked a little and I helped you with the chest plate, but I didn't want to push you into something you might not want. I mean you were the first person not to freak out after my transformation. You said I was badass. That meant something when everyone else was flinching away and stuff, you know?" Hank said back, grinning at Alex in thank you for the acceptance he'd always shown.

"You're welcome, I guess. I mean you are badass, I wasn't lyin', man. And your chest plate thing has helped me with my power so much. I'd still be hula-hoopin' and shooting blasts all over the place if it weren't for that. So thanks, Hank. See, like I said, you bring a lot to the table: smart and badass. All I can bring is anger issues, orphan anxiety and a tonne of bottled up emotions. What is that compared to you? Why shouldn't I have thrown my crappy self in front of that bullet?" Alex finished his little speech by lifting his hands in question, his voice getting higher again in incredulity that hank could possibly mean less than him. Hank threw him a look of shock and horror back. This whole self-worth 'your life means more' thing was worrying Kank. He needed to help Alex see he was worth a lot.

"Because what if you'd have died, Alex? What would I have done? How would I have felt knowing you'd sacrificed yourself? You've got a lot to offer us, to offer me, Alex. You're smart, spontaneous, and good at fighting, your control over the plasma energy is amazing, you can sit back and watch for a second and have figured out a tonne about a person, you're a good leader; you play a good game of tactics. I liked the hula-hooping you when you first got here. I mean the emotions poured out of you, and it was kind of-

Hank cut himself off before he said anything too emotional and embarrassing. Unfortunately he didn't cut himself off earlier enough and Alex lifted his head and stared at him.

"'Kind of' what?" Alex asked quickly, frowning at Hank.

"Forget I said anything, I'm just rambling." Hank added just as fast, dipping his head in embarrassment and looking away from the blonde.

"No, 'kind of' what, Hank?" Alex was persisting with that train of conversation. Fuck. Hank just let go of his secret and told Alex. Hopefully Alex would reject him in a gentle way.

"Kind of…hot, sexy even." Hank replied in a small voice. Alex's jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out. Hank awaited the ridicule and the angry response. But it never came.

"Whoa. I wasn't expecting that. You found me sexy?" Alex said in a choked voice. A smile formed on his lips as he looked up at Hank through his pale eyelashes. How Alex could possibly not expect that Hank just couldn't understand; the blonde was gorgeous.

"Fuck! I didn't mean to say that part out loud. I meant it was kind of intriguing, you were promising…like I wanted to know more about you. Yeah, that's what I meant." Hank needed to rescue his dignity from where it was flailing at his confession. Apparently it didn't work very well just hedging.

"No no. you said hot and sexy first. Instinctive answers are always the truest." Alex said still smiling sweetly as Hank floundered between embarrassment and a desire to just kiss Alex on the mouth. He sighed and tried to get some semblance back to the conversation.

"Look, I did say you were hot. And sexy, fuck! I need to control my mouth. But we were talking about…I can't even. Look I'll just go before this gets anymore awkward." Hank said in defeat, getting up and walking towards the door of the room, leaving Alex in silence. Just as Hank was about to turn the handle he heard Alex speak again.

"Your lips were really soft. When I kissed you." Alex's voice was soft and careful but Hank definitely heard it. With subject matter like that, Hank really hoped he heard it correctly.

The former-brunette span around and stared slack-jawed at Alex for a second or two, before slowly walking back to the bedside. Hank had assumed that the kiss had been wiped from the blonde's mind in all the drama and haze of medication. Apparently not.

"y-you remember that? Kissing me?" Hank said slightly fearful of what might happen next. It could go one of two ways; Alex could dismiss it as pre-death madness and reiterate his unending heterosexuality, or he could accept that it happened and deal with the ensuing consequences. Hank didn't know how he'd quite deal with either reaction.

"Oh yeah! How could I forget a kiss as good as that? It was like something out of a romance novel for fuck's sake! Um…not that I read romance novels or anything; because I totally don't. Apparently dying me is into being a lame-ass and initiating ridiculously cheesy kisses." Alex said, laughing and rubbing the back of his neck. Hank was a little shocked to hear Alex speak so freely about it. At least he didn't deny it and shrug it off.

"I didn't think it was cheesy. I thought it was…nice. You could have been dying, I wasn't going to punch you in the face for doing something I didn't have-

Hank really needed to control his mouth and his head a bit better. He was blurting all kinds of crap out, stuff he didn't want to really say. He knew that being vulnerable and laying yourself out for other people always ended in ridicule and pain. Apparently Alex made him comfortable enough to just spill his guts.

"What's the end of that sentence?" Alex asked, his interest piqued by hank's abruptly ended sentence. Hank blushed and tried to be swallowed up by the floor. It was an unsuccessful attempt. The blonde was smiling and looking hopeful and a little vulnerable too.

"I didn't have the energy to care about?" hank added as a question. Alex's face fell and the smile drifted from his lips. Hank felt like an asshole for not being able to say what he really wanted. He hated being too scared to admit his feelings for Alex. He watched the mechanism fall into place as the blonde coughed gruffly and squared his shoulders, letting the subtle rejection wash over him like water. Hank would never know that his heart had just broken a little bit.

"Oh, I thought you were going to say something else. Never mind. I'm gonna get some sleep now. Good talk, man." Alex dismissed it all and smiled weakly at Hank, turning away from him and sighing minutely. Hank sat in the chair beside him and watched as the blonde's breathing evened out. It was peaceful and the silence soothed Hank, he still felt like a douchebag, but at least he didn't have to see the dejected crushed look on Alex's face anymore. Damn it! Why couldn't he just outright say it? Those three little words seemed deceptively easy enough, but they sure as hell weren't in reality.

It seemed that Alex had fallen into a heavy sleep while Hank's psyche battled itself trying to justify not just telling Alex how he felt. The logical part of his brain was arguing the 'what if he rejected me?' argument, while the emotional side was screaming about the 'yeah, but _he_ kissed ME' point of view. It was difficult to cope with and Hank buried his head in his hands.

He could just vocalize it to the sleeping blonde, and then it would be out in the open to a certain extent. Alex was sleeping so he wouldn't hear it, and Hank really needed to just tell someone, even if his audience was dreaming away blissfully unaware of what was going on. Yeah, that could work. And he was technically admitting it to Alex. Hank might feel like a fool just blurting it out into the silence, but it might be worth it to sort out his jumbled thoughts.

"I was going to say something else, Alex. I was going to say that 'I wasn't going to punch you in the face for doing something I never had the balls to do'. even when you weren't jumping in front of bullets for me, which you really shouldn't do again; because for a minute there I thought I might have to live without you calling me bozo everyday, as much as I hated it at first, I kind of love it now." Hank took a breath and watched Alex, pulling the blanket a bit higher.

"I've wanted to just grab you and kiss you for months, but I didn't. And you did. So thanks." Hank said it slowly and carefully, knowing that no judgment was coming his way. Not from his sleeping beauty. Hank paused and ran a hand through Alex's hair, thinking it might be safe with him sleeping away in the cot. The blonde stirred and snuggled into the mattress bringing his hands to his chest. Hank smiled fondly down at him.

"Even though I'll probably never say this to you when you are actually awake, I love you, Alex summers." Hank finished and turned back to his experiments that lay forgotten on the side. Hank really couldn't concentrate much with all the intense stuff swirling in his head. He just needed to distract himself from the sleeping blonde. He heard a shifting on the mattress from behind him but decided it was probably nothing. It turned out not to be 'nothing'.

"It's a shame you'll never say that to me when I'm awake, huh? It was nice." Alex's deep voice travelled across the lab and Hank felt his heart skip a beat. Oh sweet motherfucking crap! Alex had heard him. Hank span around and walked over to the bed again.

"Fuck, Alex! I thought you were asleep! And you heard all of that? Oh Jesus, look I didn't mean for you to- wait did you say it was nice? You mean you don't hate me for being all soppy and in love with you?" Hank needed a bit of clarification, Alex wasn't freaking out? At all? Not a flicker of an eyelash. He heard the blonde chuckle and his heart was in his mouth, waiting for the response.

"Nah, why would I hate you for being like that? I might not have been told 'I love you' for a while, but I know it's not cool to respond to it by being angry. Even if I didn't love you back, it's still cool to know someone out there cares, you know?" Alex let the words roll off his tongue easily. As carefully chosen as they might be, they sounded nonchalant and easy. Although Hank did notice Alex's eyes flicking up to his every now and then, and detected a bit of a shake in his voice.

"I guess you're right… I mean…I can understand that it will be awkward and you won't want to- 'if you didn't love me?' does that mean that you _do actually _love me?" Hank asked, more than a little flabbergasted. Alex turned and dangled his legs over the side of the bed, beckoning Hank closer with a finger. And damn! If that wasn't the hottest thing Hank had ever seen. Hank complied with the silent request and stood before Alex about a foot away.

"Wow, for a smart guy you are a little slow on the uptake there, bozo. Why else would I take a bullet for you, you crazy ass?" Alex placed his hands on Hank's hips and pulled him between his splayed knees. Then he took Hank's blue hands in his own and placed them on the side of his own neck.

"Okay, I'm going to spell this out for you right now. You seem to be particularly dense and incoherent today. Yes, I love you. Yes, I loved kissing you and I want to do it again lots of times. Yes, I want you to be my boyfriend. Yes, I want you to fuck me into this mattress at the earliest interval. Do I need to be any clearer? Think you can wrap your massive brain around all that?" Alex said as he felt Hank's long fingers straying into the hair at the back of his head. Hank had a slight purple blush on his cheeks but he stood still, smiling widely.

"I think I've got all of that, Alex. What was the thing you said about the mattress? Just one more time to make sure I wasn't hallucinating?" Hank asked, chuckling as he stroked down Alex's sides and down his strong thighs to rest at his hands on the blonde's knees.

"The thing about where we have sex right here? The thing about you stripping me and pinning me to this mattress while you slide your massive blue dick into me? While I kiss you and tell you I love you and that I'd jump a million bullets as long as I could keep you safe? That one?" Alex said in a husky whisper. Hank swore he'd just been blessed, having such a sexy beautiful boy with his legs spread and promising so much.

"Mmhmm, th-that one. Fuck! you are so hot. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have someone like you." Hank stuttered out, feeling his trousers tighten at the look the blonde was giving him, all batting eyelashes and lust. Combined with the way he was licking his lips and rolling his hips forward, Hank thought he might just melt into a puddle on the floor of the lab.

"Oh yeah, you can_ have_ me anyway you want; any position, anywhere, anytime. I won't even tell you how many times I've thought about _having_ you, Hank." Alex growled out stroking a hand up Hank's back and stopping at the waist of his trousers.

… **To be continued **

**Aahh cliffhanger. Sorry. But it will have another chapter I promise. A sexy one. **

**Hope this is okay.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been three and a half weeks since Alex and Hank had admitted to each other how they felt. As big an event as it was, not a lot had actually changed for them. Alex had been sleeping on the cot in the lab, and hank slept on his own mattress a few metres away. Alex couldn't sleep in the bed with him because his injury was still healing. And hank wouldn't be able to keep his hands off the beautiful blonde, and it would be awful if he was the reason his…well his…Alex's stitches ruptured. They had explored each other a little bit, okay quite a lot.

The first time they had done more than kissing was about a week ago. It consisted of Hank's hand disappearing down Alex's pyjama bottoms and sliding a fingertip inside his tight entrance, just in the middle of a kissing session. Alex had been shocked by it, especially as it was hank initiating their first sexual encounter. But it had felt _amazing_ having even the smallest part of hank within him. A few more thrusts and wiggles of that finger within him and he was Cumming harder than he had in a long while. And hank licking said cum off his fingers was almost enough for another orgasm.

And since this initial exploration they had done it a bit more every time. Hank was usually the one doing the 'servicing' as Sean had crudely named it after walking in on them once. Alex felt he was being selfish in accepting his 'services' but hank insisted, that as Alex was the one injured and incapacitated in a cot, he should be doing all the work. Alex had promised after 3 handjobs, 2 blowjobs, 4 fingering sessions and god knows how many kissing sessions that he would definitely pay the blue mutant back. Hank had nodded, kissed him on the mouth and snuggled into the small bed next to him, being careful of his injured shoulder and promptly fallen asleep. Alex would keep his promise though.

Hank was still trying to define what they had between them. Alex had said initially that he wanted hank as his boyfriend, but no more had been said on that matter, and the blue doctor decided it was best left alone for now. They would eat meals together in the labor at the table in the kitchen with the others; they would hug and kiss, and hold hands. But it was little more than that. They were outwardly together, but neither of them had officially said anything.

The gunshot wound at Alex's shoulder was looking better, and he was gaining the use of his arm again, but that didn't mean very much; he still wasn't allowed to go out training or running like he normally would. Just in case anything happened. However there was an upside to it; staying in the lab with hank and getting to spend lots of time with him.

Hank hadn't left his side for very long at all since the accident, and Alex really liked having him around. He loved the way that hank would very gently clean and redress his injury. He loved the way hank would sit and read to him when it was quiet. He loved the way hank would kiss him on the mouth, with just the right heat and amount of tongue that made it perfect. He loved the way hank would tuck him into the blankets and run his warm fingers through his blonde spiky hair before going to his bed in the corner.

Alex was sitting up in bed drinking some vegetable soup hank had made for him. The blue mutant was buttering some bread at the counter, humming slightly. The blonde turned his head towards him, smiling as he noticed how relaxed hank was.

"This soup is amazing Hank; I don't deserve all this special treatment." Alex said around the spoon in his mouth. Hank walked over to him and placed the buttered roll next to his bowl, grinning.

"Do you really like it? I learnt the recipe from this female CIA agent who helped me a lot when I first worked for them." Hank asked, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing lightly. All Alex could think about was how adorable hank was at that moment.

"Yeah, man. Best soup I've ever had. You didn't have to go to all the trouble though." Alex repeated, reaching out and squeezing hank's hand in appreciation. Hank took his place in the seat next to Alex's bedside and shook his head in dismissal.

"Technically, you are hurt because of me, so it's only fair I nurse you back to health. It's no trouble, not when I'm doing it for you." Hank said, stroking Alex's pale hand and placing a kiss on the knuckles. Alex was sure his heart just melted in his chest. Or something like that, maybe a more masculine version of that thought.

"Thanks, seriously I really appreciate it." Alex whispered as hank sipped at the cup of tea he had brought over with him.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, with Alex eating his soup and bread, and hank perusing his bookshelf for something to read. Alex had thought that he would be going crazy having his lifestyle restricted so much, but he really didn't. As long as he was restricted but with hank by his side, he found he kind of enjoyed it.

For the three weeks he'd been healing hank had been amazing, doing a lot of things for him, looking after him and making sure he was as comfortable and was as happy as he could be in the situation. The others had paid him visits sometimes, coming to talk to him and fill him in on all the gossip (this was a favourite past time of Sean's). Charles had talked to him in the first week that he wouldn't be able to train like normal for at least a month and a half. He would have complained about his injury, and bitched and been a child about it, but then he remembered who he was talking to; Charles fucking Xavier. This was a guy who had lost his boyfriend and the use of his legs in one day, and rather than bitch about it and mope, he had forced himself to create the school for young mutants, had given confidence to three flailing emotionally-wrecked teenage boys and been strong for them when they needed him.

Yeah, Alex didn't have it that bad at all. And he had the wonderful hank to be there for him.

"So what are we reading today, Hank?" Alex called out, pushing his emptied bowl away and watching hank mulling around the bookshelf.

"Don't laugh at me, but I was thinking, maybe Romeo and Juliet?" hank said, lifting the book from the shelf and walking back over to the cot, head ducked low, waiting for Alex's reaction.

"I wouldn't laugh at you for picking that book; it's an amazing bit of writing. Good old Shakespeare." Alex said, smiling at hank and accepting the book from him. Alex flicked it open to a random page and started to read.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." Alex said in his smooth voice, smiling at hank as the brunette's eyebrow rose in surprise and unending admiration.

"Uh… Have not saint's lips, and holy palmers, too?" hank replied, flawlessly quoting the play back at Alex. The smirk the blonde received from his doctor was a challenge, and he was so going to accept it. Alex did actually know that Romeo and Juliet was hank's favourite book, because he always had a copy near him, and Alex had often noticed him reading it around the mansion, even before they had gotten close. So he might not win this quote battle, besides Alex guessed that hank could probably recite the entire play without so much as batting an eyelash at the old English. But he played along anyway.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." Alex dipped his head to hank and placed his hands together in a prayer motion. If he was going to do this, a little acting would be required. As cheesy as the situation might seem to anyone else, it was beautiful to the blonde right in that crystallized moment. Something that he could file away and keep forever.

"Well, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Hank placed a kiss on his palm and extended the hand out to Alex, doing some acting of his own. He was very glad that his corny love of the Shakespeare play had been flawlessly accepted, and even embraced and nurtured, by Alex. When he was being bullied at school hank had buried himself in his studies and read as much as he could. When he learned he would be studying the play in English literature he had fallen in love with it. And since that time it was a comfort to him, and now he could share it with Alex too.

Alex joined their hands, sliding his fingers in between hank's blue ones. They stared at each other for a moment, just caught up and suffocating in the magnificence of what was happening. Yeah, it was just reading some play to each other and being sappy and pathetic; but it meant a lot. They were comfortable enough with each other to allow this; they could trust the other not to mock them for it. Alex licked his lips and his grey eyes flicked down to the pages.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." The blonde replied, wiggling his fingers and batting his eyelashes a little bit. He and hank both knew what came next in the play.

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take." Hank whispered, leaning towards Alex and kissing him hard on the mouth, licking at his pink lip and asking for entrance. Alex parted his lips and felt as hank's persistent tongue pushed inside and slid against his own leisurely. He felt hank's warm hand cup his jaw and slide into his hair slightly, and the blonde moaned into his mouth. It was the best and most glorious kiss they had shared so far, and there had been a fair few. Alex silently thanked Shakespeare as hank started to kiss his way down his jaw line and was nuzzling at his earlobe with his rough tongue.

The blue mutant finally pulled back after what felt like hours, and Alex whimpered his disappointment. Was the charade over?

"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged." Hank croaked out, stroking Alex's pink-tinted cheek with the back of his fingers and smiling as if dazed. Once Alex could focus his brain away from decidedly impure thoughts, he managed to respond accordingly.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took?" this was some of the most intellectual and beautiful foreplay he had ever partaken in. hank moved the tray aside onto the closest counter and moved to straddle Alex's lap, placing his hands on either side of his blonde's face.

"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." Was all that was said before hank was feverishly kissing him again, lips and tongue and teeth. Alex wasn't complaining, at all. In fact very far from complaining; his body was definitely responding to it. a response that was currently pressing against the curve of hank's ass. Hank's hands were running over his shoulder and chest, sliding up under his shirt and teasing his nipples, causing him to groan and his hips to buck up. When they had to separate for lack of air they were both grinning and looking decidedly ruffled

"You kiss by the book." Alex panted, resting his forehead against hank's and pulling him forward into a hug. They sat there like that for a few minutes; hank wiggled his hips, feeling the effect he'd had on Alex pressing against him.

"I have never used Shakespeare in that way before. I bet he'd be very pleased he could get you up in just a few lines of text." Hank joked, crawling back and cupping Alex's erection under the covers of the bed. The blonde groaned and spread his legs a little bit. Hank removed his large hand and sat back on the bed, just staring at Alex looking so undone and hot.

"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" Alex said in a hoarse voice, shrouded in lust and need. Hank thought he had died and gone to heaven. Never would that seemingly innocent line mean the same thing to him again. And he really didn't mind it being associated with a hot wanton horny Alex. He chuckled and acquiesced to Alex's request.

Hank's hand found its way beneath Alex's pyjama bottoms and boxers and started to slowly stroke him up and down, thumbing the tip and massaging his balls.

"Ah oh mmm hank, yes, so good." Alex mumbled, bucking his hips into the warm grip, his pre-cum making for an easier slip and slide.

Hank unzipped his trousers and pulled his boxers down, revealing his own pulsing dick, and before Alex could blink or quote anything else they were rocking their hips together, hank's hand stroking both dicks at the same time. Alex was so close to orgasm, he felt ripples of it starting to shiver over his skin, hank suckled love bites into his neck, occasionally applying pressure with his pointed teeth, but before it could hurt he'd softly kiss them better. Alex panted hard into the former-brunette's ear, moaning and babbling incoherently about love and all manner of dirtier things.

Hank stroked their dicks together faster, pumping his hips and licking at Alex's neck again. Just as he felt Alex's body tensing he whispered into his ear.

"_Did my heart love 'til now? Forswear its sight. For I never saw true beauty 'til this night_." Alex shot his cum onto both their stomachs, crying out hank's name loudly, hank followed second after, knees buckling so he was fully seated in the blonde's lap. Alex pulled his shirt over his head and wiped them clean of cum.

"Fucking hell, hank! That was- Jesus that was so- I can't even- Damn baby!" Alex coherently answered, running a hand through hank's hair and kissing him lightly on the forehead.

"Yeah, it was." Hank said, smiling and kissing Alex's lips lightly. Hank changed into some pyjama bottoms and ne of Alex's baggy t-shirts and snuggled back into his lap, and they ended up falling asleep like that. Charles had wheeled past the door to the lab and seen them all comfy in the bed together and smiled fondly, deciding not to disturb them from their rest. It hurt to see them happy together like that, when he had been so close to perfection with Erik. He was pleased for his young charges finally admitting how they felt, but it just made him realise how lonely he was. He made his way to the kitchen to make dinner for Sean and himself. The ginger boy was already there, or so he guessed from all the pots and pans clanging around.

He and Sean had managed to successfully make a chicken casserole and roast potatoes. They put two portions aside for Hank and Alex and ate their own at the table. It was companionable as it always had been, but the absences that played on their minds were so apparent at quiet times like those. Although Sean managed to fill the silences with loud raucous stories about what he had done on the last trip into town, or how his flying training was going. Charles was glad for his loud voice and exuberant manner at times, and this was definitely one of those times.

It was late evening when hank padded into the kitchen in his pyjamas, in need of more tea bags. When he walked in he didn't notice Sean sitting at the table sketching something.

hank stole about six tea bags and slipped them into his dressing gown pocket, he whirled around when he heard Sean say something to him.

"We kept a dinner for you and Alex, the doc said you were sleeping when we were about to eat, so he said to leave you be and give it to you later." Sean said, smiling at him and patting him on the shoulder, nodding in the direction of two covered-over plates on the counter.

"Sorry I didn't see you before; I'm kind of tired still. Thanks for keeping us some. Alex loves your casserole; he'd hate to have missed It." hank answered, grinning at Sean and piling the plates to put in the fridge for tomorrow.

"You're welcome. Is Alex awake? I haven't visited him in a while." Sean asked, collecting his pencils and drawings up and turned to hank again.

"Yeah he is awake, he's reading I think, but he'd like to see you. Can you tell him that I'll be sleeping in my room tonight? The mattress in the lab is really uncomfortable." Hank asked, smiling back tiredly, stretching his arms and cricking his back

"Yeah, I'll tell him for you, goodnight hank." Sean said, patting the blue mutant's shoulder and turning and leaving the kitchen. Hank walked to his room, padding up the stairs and collapsed into his bed, asleep almost instantly.

Sean sat with Alex for two hours, just talking and laughing and catching up on the last few days' events. Alex really enjoyed seeing Sean, and getting a bit of normality back to his life after the last few weeks was nice. But he did notice hank's absence more than he thought he would. This was the first time since the accident they hadn't slept in the same room or the same bed, and Alex wondered what he had done to drive hank away. He said goodnight to Sean and turned on his side and allowed himself to fall asleep, failing to get his head around hank not being there with him.

The next day Alex awoke, his eyes scanning the room for hank, but he wasn't there. He would probably arrive later. Charles came to visit him at breakfast time, bringing a boiled egg and fingers for him to eat. They had a nice chat about when he would be able to train again, and the different things Alex would like to do again once he was able. Charles stayed for most of the morning, keeping Alex feeling happy and comfortable. Alex looked up at the clock, waiting for hank to arrive, but he never did.

"There is a plate of last night's dinner for you; I believe it's in the fridge. Would you like me to accompany you to the kitchen? I'm not sure where hank is." Charles asked, tidying a few items away as he looked up at Alex.

"Uh, yeah that sounds good, thanks. I haven't seen him since last night…maybe he slept in?" Alex suggested, easing himself out of the bed and shuffling over to where Charles was waiting by the door. Charles smiled and started to wheel himself slowly out of the room, Alex pulled the door closed behind him. The whole day passed in the same manner, hank away by himself somewhere while Alex spent time with Sean and Charles. He walked around the grounds with them for a while, Alex was sure he saw hank running in the back yard but he didn't want to interrupt him if he was busy. By the end of the day Alex was feeling lonely, Charles was training outside with Sean, and hank was nowhere to be found, leaving him alone in the darkening lab, snuggled in the bed reading Romeo and Juliet. He was trying to figure out why hank had abandoned him and was spending his time somewhere else.

The rest of the week went by the same way, hank always busy doing something elsewhere, he'd seen Alex for a total of about 3 hours the entire time. And during these times their relationship seemed strained and rocky. But there was no reasoning behind it. They hadn't had a fight; neither of them had said or done anything to upset each other. Hank just couldn't stand to be near him. The last time they had been together properly was the Shakespeare night. And that was damn near perfect. It didn't make any sense.

It hurt Alex. He wanted to see his…well he supposed hank was his boyfriend now. He needed to see his smile, and his laugh and the way his yellow eyes would shine. He wanted to ask hank what was going on, but he was scared to; it might just ruin the thing that they had together. He didn't want to push hank further away, or get angry at him because of his loneliness and pent up sadness.

So Alex allowed the avoidance to carry on for another few days, not asking questions, not forcing himself on hank. If hank was getting bored of him or starting to resent him for some reason, then the last thing Alex wanted to do was increase his trouble. He wanted hank to be happy, and if that meant letting him go then he would do it. He would be utterly miserable with that conclusion, but it would be the most logical thing to do. Hank liked logic.

Charles was wheeling past the room at the point Alex was having these destructive thoughts, and they rained down on him like icy water, he could feel the waves of sadness rolling off the young blonde, apparently he was projecting his thoughts very loudly.

Hank had been staying away from Alex for a reason; he loved him. Okay, so that didn't make much sense for him to be avoiding him, but hank, ever the scientist, had a rationale for his actions. He had spent a solid three weeks with Alex, looking after him, reading to him, helping him walk and get the use of his shoulder back. Hank was fairly new to relationships, and the one he shared with Alex was tenuous, undefined, and commitment hung over them as an unanswered question. But hank supposed that Alex was sick of seeing him day to day all the time. He was smothering the blonde with his company, and probably revealing bad things about himself and letting Alex realise he could do a lot better than some blue-skinned mutant scientist. So after that wonderful night together he had stopped spending much time in the lab, allowing Alex some freedom, a chance to separate himself from the suffocating environment of his fortress. Hank hated keeping Alex inside all the time, stopping him from training. But he hoped Alex knew he was doing it for him, and not for himself.

Hank being alone all the time allowed his self-conscious thoughts to seep through, the ones that caused him to doubt his worth and is looks and question why someone as perfect as Alex could even look at him like he was worthy of jumping a bullet for. It scared hank to think about not having Alex in his life. But surely it was inevitable that Alex would wake up one day and realise he had missed out on the chance to be with someone beautiful and worth his love? With these thoughts in his head all of the time as he worked on cerebro, and the weapons and suits and anything that could distract him, he realised that maybe giving Alex a bit of space would be best.

Charles wheeled around to Alex's bed and stared across at the boy, he was fitfully sleeping, tear tracks down his cheeks and Romeo and Juliet open in his hand. Charles felt bad for the boy, hank had been ignoring him or staying away for a good few days, and it was putting a lot of strain on Alex. He was hurting and Charles wanted to fix it. as Alex groaned in his sleep he peeked his grey eyes open, and saw Charles sitting next to him, frowning as he read a few lines of the book Alex had just dropped.

"Professor, what are you doing here? Is everything okay, is hank here?" Alex asked groggily, shifting and sitting up slightly.

"Sorry Alex, I heard your very loud thoughts and was concerned for you. Everything is fine. Sadly hank is not here, I believe he is in his room. Would you like me to get him?" Charles asked, patting Alex's good shoulder and looking towards the door.

"Oh, sorry. I'll try not to project so much. I was just having a freak out about hank. I'm okay now." Alex said his voice low and somber. He was clearly _not_ okay. Charles nodded minutely.

"Nah, if he doesn't want to be here I'm not gonna force him to spend time with me." Alex carried on, his voice breaking a little on the last few words.

"Alex, I'm sure he has a perfectly good reason for not being here. Although he should tell you what it is than treating you this way. I could help out, maybe talk to him?" Charles suggested, feeling bad for the boy in front of him.

"That would be great, thanks. Or actually just give him a note for me? I wrote it earlier and I was trying to work out how to give it to him." Alex said, reaching over to the bedside table and pulling the note out from the drawer.

He unfolded it and handed it to the professor, smiling slightly.

_HANK, _

_PLEASE STOP AVOIDING ME. I WANT TO SEE YOU. I WANT TO HAVE YOU HERE WITH ME AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. WHATEVER YOUR REASONING FOR STAYING AWAY IS, CAN YOU DISREGARD IT AND COME AND HANG OUT? I MISS YOU. I'M SORRY IF I DID ANYTHING TO UPSET YOU OR DRIVE YOU AWAY, I'LL MAKE UP FOR IT, AND I'LL FIX IT. JUST DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE LIKE THIS._

_ALEX X_

Alex hoped that the note would help them get back on track. Charles made him a cup of tea with the last teabag in the lab and he stayed with the blonde while he drank it and started to feel just a little bit better. Then Charles wheeled out of the room and made his way to hank's bedroom, when he got there he saw the door was open and hank was fast asleep in bed, facing the wall.

He managed to wheel into the room and plant the note at hank's bedside, resting it over his glasses to make sure Hank would notice it and read it.

Alex lay in his own bed, he sighed and allowed himself to sleep, whispering "_O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"_

**Another cliffhanger, sorry. **

**I just realised this chapter was getting a little bit long, so I split it up into two sections. **

**The next one will have the reconciliation of the boys, hank apologizing for being silly, and then a lead up to the sexy-times I promised. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 (probably the last chapter)**

Hank awoke and rubbed his eyes, he reached for his glasses, but there was something resting on top of them; a piece of paper. He pulled it towards him and scanned over the words, written in handwriting he recognised. When he was done reading he felt terrible. It was from Alex, saying that he missed hank, and wanted to be with him all the time. The blonde had even written saying that he was sorry for whatever he had done wrong. Hank's heart broke at that part; clearly he had made a grave mistake in leaving Alex alone all those days. His flawless logic for doing so melted away to nothing, and hank found himself climbing out of bed, putting his glasses on and walking down to the lab to see his love.

He didn't know what he was going to say to Alex, other than sorry over and over until his throat was hoarse. He never thought Alex would even notice him not being there, that it would upset him. Hank was clearly wrong about how much he meant to the blonde. It made his heart ache and feel warm and fuzzy at the same time. Once his feet carried him to outside the door, he peeked in through the window. The sun was flooding the room, and Alex was huddled in the duvet, even from where he was stood hank could see tear tracks down his sleep-flushed cheeks. That sight was like a knife to the heart for hank. Without another thought he slipped into the room and walked to Alex's bedside, kneeling down before him and placing a gentle kiss to his forehead. Alex awoke blearily and opened his grey eyes, his pupils dilated when he saw hank was there. Before he even knew what was going on, Alex had vaulted himself from the bed down into hank's lap, his strong arms around the blue mutant's neck while he nuzzled his neck.

"y-you got my note then?" Alex whimpered against hank's warm skin, not looking up at hank just in case he was about to be rejected and flung away.

"Yes, Alex. I did. I'm so sorry, love. I had no idea you would get so upset about me not being here." Hank replied in an apologetic voice, all emotion and wrought guilt.

"It's stupid, but I really missed you. I though I might've hurt your feelings, or rushed you into things you didn't want. I was scared I lost you. I was running over everything in my head about what could've upset you and i-

Hank cut him off with his lips before Alex could talk anymore. He lifted the blonde's head and forced their lips together. He kissed him hard and romantic, slipping his tongue along Alex's lips and cupping his jaw with his hand. He tried to pour his remorse and love into the kiss, Alex wrapped his legs around his hips and kissed back just as hard.

They broke apart after a few minutes and Alex looked up at hank, smiling shyly.

"So, what super-scientific reasoning was behind staying away?" he joked, stroking hank's blue cheek and letting his legs fall back down. Hank looked down at him sadly and hugged him close.

"Since we came back from the mission where you were injured, I've been with you almost every second of every day. I thought maybe you would get bored of the sight of me, fussing and babying you all the time. And I know I'm not the easiest guys to be around, or to be _with_. And we were never official, I just thought you might want a break from me, to realise how you really felt and what you wanted." Hank said, his voice diminishing to a whisper towards the end. Alex shook his head and frowned.

"You were wrong. I could never get sick of being with you hank. Ever. I know how I feel and I know what I want, I have for weeks now." Alex said smiling just a little bit. Hank looked down at him with yellow eyes flashing, hidden emotions swirling within them.

"And what is it you want? How do you feel?" Hank had to ask this question. This was the make or break of their, whatever it was they had.

"You Hank; I want you, and I love you. I want to be your boyfriend. I know we haven't talked about it, but being without you just hurt so much…I want you in every capacity, hank. If you…if you want." Alex's confidence died as he kept talking.

Hank smiled and held his love's face again, fingers sliding into his blonde hair.

"I want, Alex. I very much want. I love you too." Hank replied reverently grinning widely and kissing Alex again, this time soft and gentle and romantic.

They walked down to the kitchen together, a few moments of kissing and hugging and telling each other they loved each other later. They held hands the entire time, not able to keep the smiles off their faces. When they arrived in the kitchen Charles smiled at them and nodded approvingly, and Sean volunteered to cook bacon and eggs for them all. It was a really nice breakfast.

Alex and Hank the rest of the day together, they ate the heated-up casserole Sean and Charles had made for them out on the grass outside, and then they spent the afternoon sitting together in hank's bed in the lab, reading to each other and generally being adorable boyfriends.

Hank was standing at the counter working on an experiment that he had been doing for weeks, when Alex turned him around and started to feverishly kiss him on the mouth. Hank was shocked by the onslaught of affection, but he rolled with it and kissed back, wrapping his arms around Alex's torso and hugging tight.

"Alex, are you sure you're feeling up to this? It's only been a month since I patched up your injury." Hank asked as Alex walked him backwards into the wall, wrapping his arms around the former-brunette's neck.

"Mmhmm I want it really bad, Hank. I've dreamt about this happening ever since I first kissed you. Please?" Alex murmured against Hank's lips, before kissing him hard and slipping his tongue inside the warm mouth. Hank just complied with Alex's wishes; it wasn't like he didn't want it too, after all.

Hank surged forward lifting Alex's legs up so they were around his slim waist. With his heightened strength Hank easily lifted Alex and supported his weight as he carried the blonde to the bed. He tumbled them downwards and his hips involuntarily started to rut against Alex's crotch. Hank kissed his way down Alex's neck, reaching between them to undo Alex's button and zip in one movement.

The blonde gasped and his face fell in shock. Hank came back to himself and pulled away, a little breathless and worried.

"Shit, sorry Alex. Too much? Did I hurt you?" Hank panted out, stroking his hands down Alex's ribcage and flushing dark purple. Alex looked up at Hank through his lashes and shook his head.

"Nah, Hank; I just didn't expect it to be so…feverish so suddenly. Keep going, baby." Alex replied, smiling and bucking his hips up into Hank's in invitation. Hank looked into the blonde's face again just to make sure it was okay. The nod he received spurred him on. In less than a minute Alex's jeans were gone and hank was pushing the leather jacket off and the t-shirt up and over his head. The blonde was absolutely beautiful, and Hank wanted to kiss his way down Alex's torso towards his boxers. But his beast genetics were screaming for a release, screaming for him to rip the underwear off his boyfriend and slide straight inside him. It took a lot of willpower to fight against these impulses. Hank did find that he was rubbing his clothed erection against Alex's own, lifting the blonde's torso and kissing him hard on the mouth. Alex pushed at Hank's chest lightly and detached his lips from his boyfriend's questing tongue and lips.

"Mmph hold on babe, slow down a little." Alex groaned as Hank looked at him wild-eyed. Alex was shaking in need but he had to slow it just a little.

"You're going to cream your pants if we don't get you out of your clothes soon. I want that cum inside me, not wasted in your boxers, Hank. Let me strip you?" Alex said, placing a kiss to Hank's warm forehead, watching his yellow eyes flash with warmth and what seemed like love.

"Sorry Alex, you're just so damn hot, and the pheromones you're letting off right now are intoxicating." Hank breathed out as Alex began to undo his belt buckle and unzipping and unbuttoning, Hank helped him out by undoing his shirt and slipping it off. Alex's grey eyes roamed over his upper body, taking in all the contours and colours and memorizing every detail right down to the last patch of fur. Hank felt himself becoming a bit self conscious under the intensity of the stare. Then one of Alex's pale hands slipped down over his abs and into his boxer shorts, wrapping around his hard dick and stroking up and over the slit.

"Ah-ah-Alex. Mmm yess." Hank groaned as the blonde slowly worked his dick, he had trouble not just bucking hard into the warm hand and coming there and then. But no. Alex wanted to go all the way, and he'd had to wait for so long for his wound to heal, it wouldn't be fair to him to stunt the action now they had already come so far.

"Like that, huh?" Alex whispered right next to Hank's ear as he gave the blue mutant's dick a final squeeze before divesting him completely of his straining boxers. Hank nodded as he couldn't really talk for love or money. Alex's face dropped as he saw Hank's dick in its full glory for the first time.

"Your…fuck! Your dick is huge, Hank. I haven't bottomed for ages…it might not-

"Alex, we will go really slowly, and if it's not okay then we'll stop, I won't make you do anything you don't want to." Hank silenced Alex and stroked his boyfriend's cheek lightly. Alex shook his head.

"You're so good to me, Hank. I want this so bad, you'll just have to work me open for a bit longer than it would usually take. I can't believe that monster was hiding between your legs and I never noticed before." Alex said, chuckling as he slipped his boxers down his hips and onto the floor at his feet.

Hank looked over his pale lover's body, smiling a wolfish grin at seeing him so bare and knowing just how lucky he was. The animal within him was growling loudly, making his nerves sing out and the fire in his belly grow. He could feel his fast heartbeat in his ears and his blood pumping. His urges were still pulsing through him like a drum, telling him to just lay Alex out and ravish him until he was used up and sullied. But Hank had to keep a hold on himself, of his non-beast tendencies. Alex was worried at Hank's size, so it would be slow and calculated and romantic, this was their first time sleeping together. It had to mean something.

Alex led back on the bed and spread his creamy thighs wide apart, lifting his knees and planting his feet on the mattress, giving Hank a wonderful view of the eventual endgame; that tight little puckered hole.

"Oh god Alex, you're so sexy like this; all unguarded and open with me. Open _for_ me." hank whispered huskily, smiling down at the beauty on his bed. Alex wrapped his hand around his own dick and started to slowly stroke up and down, spreading his legs even wider apart, bucking his hips with every movement.

"If you want a show then I'll give you a show, doctor Hank. You can't have me until I say so, alright." Alex purred, his hand still around his cock sliding up and down at a slow pace.

"O-okay. Just don't come; I want us to come at the same time when I'm inside you and my hand is around your dick." Hank replied in an affected whisper-moan. Alex groaned loudly at the images Hank's suggestion brought about.

"Do you have lube in here? I'm going to need it in a second." Alex asked, looking around for a cabinet, his grey eyes hooded in lust and need. Hank nodded towards the drawers next to the bed and Alex scrambled to get it.

"Now, sit still and don't touch yourself. I know how badly your body needs this and how that inner-beast is growling and ready to pounce. But I want you to get a little bit of control back before I bottom for you, before I give myself to you like I haven't for another person in a long time. Just sit back and enjoy for a second?" Alex said walking over to hank and kissing his lips lightly before lying back down and spreading his legs to accommodate his erect dick

Alex lifted the little bottle about a foot away from his chest and drizzled it over his nipples and abs and down around his dick. He could see Hank's blue eyes trained on the liquid as it hit his creamy skin and started to drip. The lube was a pale bluish purple colour and Alex slid his fingers over a nipple, pinching it and rolling it lightly, looking at hank through his eyelashes in a way he knew drove his boyfriend wild.

A lot of the lube had collected around Alex's abs, and was trickling down his sides; Alex collected some on a fingertip and lifted it to his lips. He lapped at it and smiled at the burst of blueberry taste that hit his senses.

Dipping his fingertips into more of the luscious blueberry lube he drew a heart on his wrist and then started to leisurely stroke his dick and smooth the liquid over his balls. Hank was sitting in his desk chair a few feet away, a vehement blush on his cheeks as he watched, dick aching from the hotness, his boyfriend slowly becoming more and more aroused. Alex dripping in the lube and moaning sinfully as he slid a couple fingers around his tight entrance, squeezing his beautiful eyes shut as he pushed past the ring of unyielding muscle into himself.

Hank whined and bucked his hips up, trying to keep hold of the beast roaring within him, trying to suppress the urge to just spread Alex wide around his dick with the little preparation he'd administered.

As Alex slowly worked his tight hole open, adding a second finger and then a third, hank was going crazy not being allowed to do anything to himself. This was masturbation material at its finest; Alex with rivulets of blue lube over his chest and abs and nipples, head thrown back, eyes rolling and pink lips parted, sliding fingers in and out of himself. Fuck if it wasn't the most beautiful thing Hank had ever seen.

"H-hank, I need you now, I w-want you to f-fuck me, please baby?" Alex moaned lifting his torso and leveling Hank with a pleading stare that was of course unnecessary, how could Hank possibly resist such a polite request?

"Oh god Alex! Hell yeah! I thought you'd never ask." Hank moved quickly over to Alex, kneeling between the blonde's legs and reaching into the drawer and pulling out a condom which he rolled over his aching dick quickly. He lunged down and kissed Alex hard on the mouth, pushing his tongue between Alex's lips and stopped his thrusting fingers in their motion. As his boyfriend's hand closed around his own, Alex extracted the three sticky blueberry-lube-covered digits from within him with a wince and groan of pleasure and pain. The sting of his stretching shot rockets of the same pain up his spine, causing a full-body shiver to erupt. Hank lifted Alex's wrist with the heart on it and turned it so he had a good view of the shining, slightly blue heart. With a mischievous look up at Alex's desperate and flushed face, Hank lapped at the drawing with his rough tongue. He traced the shape slowly, savoring the taste. Once Alex was writhing and moaning Hank knew the time was right.

The former-brunette took his hard dick in his hand and guided it towards Alex's entrance. The blonde tensed up as he felt the blunt tip press against him. Hank tried to keep his impulses suppressed, but he was so close to the goal now that his blood was thundering a pulse in his head, and a growl was emitting from somewhere deep in him.

"D-do it, Hank. Don't tease me anymore. Wanted you for so long." Alex whined, rolling his hips in a circle, this move allowing Hank's tip to slide inside his tight hole. Alex let out a long drawn out 'mmm' as more and more of his boyfriend's dick edged inside with every buck and roll of his hips. Alex's eyes were screwed up in concentration and tension, and his sinful lips were hanging open as he panted heavily.

"Is this hurtin' you, love?" Hank asked, stroking Alex's pink cheek and trying to coax his clamped-shut eyes open. Alex nodded minutely and rested his head on Hank's blue shoulder.

"mmhmm just a little. But don't stop; let those wild urges take over. Fuck me, Hank McCoy." Alex groaned, moving his hips just a little more, forcing Hank even deeper inside. Hank started to thrust in and out a little faster, creating a delicious friction that drove Alex crazy with lust.

Alex looped his arms and legs around Hank's warm body and ground down against his groin. Hank threw his head back and let out a yowl of pleasure that disintegrated into a contented purr. He started thrusting with abandon into his boyfriend, listening to the beautiful little grunts and moans Alex was making with every movement.

"Oh Hank, baby. So good. Mmm yes, keep going. So fucking close." Alex was whining between panting and bucking his hips downwards. Hank started to move even quicker into Alex, his purring increasing in volume and intensity as he also rocketed towards orgasm.

"Mmm, you're so beautiful Alex. So great, oh oh yeah, so sexy. So glad we did this."

Hank groaned out, pulling Alex in gently by the back of his head and kissing him softly on the lips. He felt the blonde's body tensing and shivers running down his spine, so Hank stilled his thrusting and let Alex's orgasm push him over the edge. Sure enough Alex was shooting pearly ropes of cum between them in seconds, his tight entrance clamping around Hank's dick and milking him of his own release.

Somehow the hula-hooping mutant managed to manouvre them into a lying position, still attached, and they lay together panting as the cum cooled on their torsos. With a wince Alex extracted himself from Hank and padded to the bathroom in search of something to clean them up. Hank sighed contentedly as he watched his beautiful boyfriend sashaying out of the room. He removed the condom and tossed it into the bin, allowing Alex to swipe at his chest with a fuzzy towel.

Once they were both relatively cleaned up Alex was hovering at the bedside, looking unsure of what to do next. Hank was lying on his back nuzzling into the mattress and squeezing his yellow eyes shut as he felt his heart rate slow, when he realised Alex still wasn't with him he peaked his eyes open and gave his boyfriend a questioning look.

"Alex, why aren't you in here with me? I want you sleeping by my side forever now, you know that, right? Get in here, Alexander summers. No questions asked." Hank exerted the little power he could muster through the tired haze that was his lust-addled brain. Alex shrugged and smiled widely, crawling into the bed and pushing his cool face into Hank's shoulder, nuzzling it with his nose.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to leave and sleep in my room. I'd be happy to sleep with you forever, Hank." Alex said. Hank looked down at him with mirth in his eyes, silently laughing at the innuendo Alex had just uttered. The blonde blushed and hid his face even further into Hank's shoulder.

"You know what I meant. Sleeping like not being awake. Although having sex with you forever doesn't sound so bad either, I just don't think we've got the stamina for that." Alex joked, kissing his way along Hank's collarbone as he felt strong hands stroke down his sides.

"Neither do I babe. Let's get some sleep now and we can talk more later. I love you Alex." Hank says sincerely, planting a kiss to the top of Alex's head. The blonde extracted himself a little way and looked into Hank's eyes, smiling and acting the shyest hank had ever seen him.

"You mean that? Because that's serious stuff." Alex asked in a very small voice. Hank pushed the blonde into the bed further and planted a loving passionate kiss on Alex's lips. He gasped, only allowing Hank better access to his mouth.

"Of course I mean it." Hank whispered, smiling widely at Alex.

"I love you so much Hank, more than anything else. I love you; I really do love everything about you. I love you, I love you, I love mmph-

Alex was stopped in his loving tirade by Hank's mouth on his again. As their tongues battled Alex smiled and didn't stop smiling.

"I'm so happy, Alex. This was the best night of my life, no contest. I'm so lucky to have someone as great as you, in my arms, in my bed, in my life." Hank whispered against Alex's forehead, cradling his boyfriend's pale body to his and wrapping his arms around him.

"Nah, I'm the lucky one. I can't believe I bagged a guy as great as you. And we look so pretty together." Alex was mumbling against Hank's shoulder, hugging him just as tight.

"If you're coming out with stuff like that you _must _be tired. We'll sleep now, my love." hank said, getting comfortable with his arm around Alex gently petting the spikes and tendrils of blonde hair. Alex snuggled into him and murmured his assent into Hank's warm skin. They drifted off to sleep like that and stayed intertwined until the next morning.

**As promised this is the sex scene. **

**Hope this is okay :) **


End file.
